Seventy-eight anglers attended this latest Match This qualifier held at Maver Larford Lakes. Conditions on the day were ideal with plenty of cloud cover, average temperatures and a slight breeze but despite this, the fish proved very difficult to find for some. There were, as ever, some fantastic weights however, with each of the top ten anglers recording ton-plus catches.
Booking his name in the 2012 Grand Final, and another name from the 2011 final was Paul 'Tommy' Hiller. Paul drew Peg 30 on the Arena lake and fished meat shallow just a few metres out and down in the margins over groundbait and casters to record a fantastic near-double-ton weight of 189-11-0.
Nathan Watson finished in second place from Peg 36, also on Arena. Nathan opted to fish the duration of the match shallow taking carp up to 7lb for a total weight of 160-11-0.
Garbolino and England International Darren Cox finished in third place weighing 150-09-0 from Peg 19 on Arena. Darren enjoyed a fantastic day fishing down in the margins in front of neighbouring Peg 20 using meat and corn on the hook over groundbait to take small carp and F1s.
Preston Innovations rod and Larford Classic regular Neil McKinnon books his place in the Maver British Pole Championship after making the most from end Peg 13 on Arena. Neil fished down the inside on worm and short with pellet to take skimmer bream, F1s and carp up to 7lb for a final 142-05-0.
The last of the British Pole Championship placements was taken by Match Fishing's Alex Bones. Alex drew Peg 50 on the Match Lake and opted to fish short on meat before switching to the margins using both corn and worm over groundbait to take some lovely carp approaching double-figures.
Qualifier Result
1 Paul Hiller (Daiwa Dorking) 189-11-00 30 (Arena)
2 Nathan Watson (Hayfield) 160-11-00 36 (Arena)
3 Darren Cox (Garbolino) 150-09-00 19 (Arena)
4 Neil McKinnon (Preston Innovations) 142-05-00 13 (Arena)
5 Alex Bones (Match Fishing Magazine) 132-11-00 50 (Match)
6 Andy Kinder (Maver / Marukyu) 129-02-00 52 (Speci)
7 Aaron Wadsworth 122-13-00 60 (Match)
8 Martin Churchill (Maver) 119-13-00 27 (Match)
